


Every Beat of My Heart

by merycula (thanksillpass)



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F, kagakuromonth2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 17:09:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2589533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanksillpass/pseuds/merycula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Wanna talk about how you’re always unhappy because no one makes your heart race and even more unhappy when someone finally does?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Beat of My Heart

Taiga cursed under her breath as she tried to squeeze through the crowd without spilling her coffee. It was uncomfortably hot in the café, which made her shirt stick to her sweaty back while her hair were basically boiling under her beanie. She nearly shouted in triumph when she finally located an empty seat – because of the special offer that stood only if you consumed your order indoors, it has been difficult to land an available seat for a few days now. In addition, the fall this years had been particularly uninviting and people virtually swarmed places like these for warmth and protection.

Taiga normally wouldn’t bother because she lived right around the corner, and she wasn’t poor enough to forget she wasn’t a fan of this kind of lively atmosphere, but her roommate (and best friend) was having her boyfriend over and Taiga did  _not_  get along with him. Taiga has never been popular with guys since she was taller than most of them, or at least of similar height, and they often felt intimidated, but that couldn’t have been an issue with Tatsuya’s boyfriend, who was over two meters tall. No, Murasakibara was simply an unbearable man-child whom Taiga couldn’t stomach.

However, it wasn’t Taiga’s place to voice petty complaints about the guy, considering that he made Tatsuya happy. They were clearly crazy about each other; had definitely  _driven_  each other crazy (Tatsuya often lost her cool, hitting and yelling at him while he made her cry with deliberately cruel words uttered in a bored tone). But they also cared for one another more than either of them cared to admit to themselves, let alone each other – that much was obvious even to Taiga. However, virtually everything else about Murasakibara was maddeningly annoying and she simply wanted no part in it.

Tiaga wasn’t regularly ditching them because she was  _jealous_  – she got into the habit of frequenting this particular café simply to avoid less than desirable company; nothing more and nothing less. She wasn’t  _depressed_  because the days were slowly getting shorter and colder and there was no one she could share them with without feeling like a third wheel. It didn’t  _bother_  her that she couldn’t seem to find a nice girl who would make her heart skip a beat the moment they met. She certainly didn’t even  _consider_  Tatsuya’s silly theory that she’d set her standards too high in order to “protect herself.”

With a heavy and frustrated sigh, she finally flopped down on the same seat as yesterday, which was far enough into the back that most people didn’t bother venturing there. She only managed to take out her earphones before she was politely greeted by a soft, dull voice on her right. She yelped, turning her head reflexively, and flailed her hands when she caught the glimpse of a blue-haired ghost, forgetting she was still holding the cup. Most of the hot liquid spilled on the table, but some of it landed on her sweatpants and she screamed in pain, using her beanie to wipe her leg frantically.

“Holy shit!!!” she hissed. “Where the hell did you come from?! Shit!”

“I’ve been here the entire time,” said the person. “I’m sorry for startling you. But this is the second day in the row that we share this table and I didn’t want to be rude. Are you alright, miss?”

Heart hammering violently in her chest, Taiga tried to calm her breathing before turning around to her unexpected companion. The girl was unceremoniously sipping on her weirdly-smelling tea and kept unabashedly looking straight at Taiga with an unreadable expression which was, quite frankly, rather creepy. The longer they stared at each other, the more uncomfortable and awkward Taiga felt – she could feel her face gradually getting hotter but she wasn’t sure if it was because of her thick body warmer, or because the strange girl’s pale cheeks were slowly getting pink as well.

“What do you mean the second day?” blurted out Taiga, frustrated with the awkward silence.

“Excuse me, but you are sitting on my dog,” said the girl flatly at the same time.

Taiga flinched and tried to squirm away from the bag squeezed between them, feeling clumsy and enormous, her breathing labored from the humiliation she was currently experiencing. Said puppy yipped happily, undoubtedly excited to see a new face, but Taiga couldn’t help shuddering in response – dogs were even harder to get along with than roommates’ boyfriends. She cringed, briefly considering touching the subject of the café’s policy regarding pets, but it would be incredibly rude, even for her, so she just mumbled an apology and finally settled comfortably in her seat.

“My name is Kuroko,” said the girl just when Taiga thought it was all over. “This is Nigou. It’s a pleasure to officially meet you.”

Kagami nodded awkwardly. “Kagami. Like, uh, likewise. Uh, could you- ask your dog to stop?”

Kuroko frowned slightly at the sight of Nigou curiously sniffing at the coffee stain on Taiga’s leg. She shook her head, chuckling fondly, and moved her puppy from the bag onto her lap. Taiga let out a relieved sigh and sent Kuroko a grateful, lopsided grin. The smile she received in return made her heart flutter in her chest, which made absolutely no sense, considering it was barely a slight, upright turn of thin, pale lips. Of course Kuroko was cute – everything small was cute (except dogs) – but she wasn’t anywhere near Taiga’s usual type. Taking a sip of her coffee, Taiga scowled in confusion.

“Have I done something to offend you, Kagami-san?” asked Kuroko immediately, concern barely audible in her soft voice. “Or is it my puppy that causes you so much discomfort?”

It took Taiga a moment to realize her scowl must have looked quite scary. “Uh, no, it’s- It’s just my… face. Ugh.”

She blushed, embarrassed by her inability to have a proper conversation with a pretty girl without stuttering, and Kuroko smiled again as she nodded. Taiga’s scowl deepened when heart rattled against her ribs once more at the sight. That was… alarming. She understood the initial irregularity of her heartbeat (she was startled shitless after all) but this was certainly an unprecedented reaction. As far as she could tell, Kuroko was decidedly  _not_  her type – she seemed quiet and polite, which never really worked for Taiga, and she obviously favored the one type of animal that Taiga actually hated.

“Anyway, second time?” she repeated her earlier question in order to distract herself from the unnecessary and dangerous train of thought. “I don’t remember you at all.”

Kuroko nodded sagely. “We have shared this booth for over half an hour yesterday but you seem to have missed my presence entirely. Please, don’t worry, though. I am more than used to it.”

“You’re kidding me,” deadpanned Taiga, gaping unattractively.

Kuroko chuckled softly, giving her dog an affectionate rub behind the ear. Everything about her made Taiga’s heart beat faster – the flat tone of her voice, the way she absentmindedly licked her lips every few seconds, even how chapped those lips looked after closer inspection. To distract herself, Taiga took a liberate sip of her coffee, nearly burning her throat in the process, and started coughing violently. She pretended not to notice Kuroko’s mildly amused glances; even Nigou whined softly and faced away, probably embarrassed by Taiga’s pathetic behavior as well (and rightly so).

“Sorry,” muttered Taiga, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “I, uh, must’ve been really distracted... or something.”

Kuroko hummed teasingly, finishing her tea in one sip, corners of her lips turning upwards. She shooed Nigou off her lap and slowly rose to her feet when the dog jumped back into the bag. Taiga involuntarily followed Kuroko’s movements with her eyes, watching her thin arms wriggle inside the sleeves of her jacket, and then her fingers play with the hem of its collar as she fixed it. She checked if Nigou was comfortable inside the bag before picking it up carefully and slinging it over her shoulder. Taiga spluttered when Kuroko bowed suddenly, uncomfortable with her impeccable manners.

“We will be going now,” announced Kuroko, not because it wasn’t obvious, but because it was polite, and it kind of blew Taiga’s mind. “I will see you around, Kagami-san, hopefully. Perhaps I will be noticed next time.”

She  _winked_  and Taiga almost choked on her spit, but Kuroko was no longer there to witness it, thankfully. With shaking fingers, she reached for her phone and instantly called Tatsuya, praying she would find a moment to actually answer a call from the outside world despite being occupied by Murasakibara. The giggle that greeted Taiga in the phone was more than telling, and she rolled her eyes at the displeased groan in the background. Cutting to the chase, Taiga summarized her encounter with Kuroko, including the bizarre flirting, and demanded Tatsuya’s most honest opinion.

“Was she gay or just really bad at being Japanese?”

Tatsuya hummed. “Definitely gay, but what does it matter? I thought you said she wasn’t your type?”

Normally, Taiga would agree, maybe even congratulate her friend for actually listening everything she said for once, but this time was different. Something about Kuroko, their odd meeting, even her dog, drew Taiga in and it was a terrifying revelation. Horrified, she placed a tentative hand on her chest to feel her heartbeat and flushed upon discovering it was still too quick for comfort. Was she going into cardiac arrest? Was this a delayed heart attack after getting scared like that? It sounded way more reasonable than the voice in the back of her head whispering about attraction.

Tatsuya sighed, exasperated with Taiga’s prolonged silence. “Come back home, it’s freezing outside, you moron. We’re making cocoa with marshmallows and watching lame period dramas. I will try to save some for you. Like, two marshmallows, maybe three, that’s all I can do for you.  _If_  you hurry.”

Taiga would have laughed, because the fact that Tatsuya wasn’t exaggerating always seemed hilarious to her, but she only managed a dejected whine and reluctantly dragged herself home. She was confused – by Kuroko, by her feelings, even by her confusion – because it had  _never_  happened to her. She was so miserable that her cocoa tasted like dust, despite her friend’s best efforts to save the astounding amount of six marshmallows for her. All Taiga could do was sigh heavily, all she could think about was the constant hammering in her chest, and all she could feel was nervous anticipation.

She was curled up on her bed, hiding under covers and trying to sleep, but that awful thumping in her chest wouldn’t let her. She kept remembering the odd way in which Kuroko smiled or licked her lips, and it made her flush every time. She chuckled hysterically, and kept laughing, louder and louder, until Tatsuya finally barged in to shut her up. The laughter was still bubbling in her throat when, suddenly, Tatsuya flopped down on her, covering Taiga’s body with her own. Ignoring the protesting grumbling, she kept shifting until she was comfortable and, finally, sighed contentedly.

“So,” she started lightly. “Wanna talk about how you’re always unhappy because no one makes your heart race and even more unhappy when someone finally does?”

“Shut up and die,” grunted Taiga, kicking her feet uselessly. “What do you even know?”

“I could hear your heartbeat over the wall~”

Taiga gasped in outrage and sat up abruptly which, seeing as she was considerably bigger and stronger than Tatsuya, resulted in her friend landing on the floor with an undignified yelp. Surprised, Taiga covered her mouth to muffle her laughter which proved completely useless when Tatsuya’s sat up and glared before lunging at her with a fierce war cry. They messed around on the bed for a bit, cursing and pulling at each other’s hair and sides, until Taiga cried uncle, choking on laughter. They lied down on their sides, facing each other, grinning and still chuckling in-between labored puffs of breath.

“Kagami and Kuroko,” cooed Tatsuya, sliding her fingers through Taiga’s hair to smooth them out, “sitting on a tree~”

“I  _will_  take your eyes out,” seethed Taiga, blushing. “Drop it, she’s not my type, just like you said.”

Tatsuya rolled her eyes. “Do you honestly think  _my_  boyfriend is my  _type_? Love is blind, sister…”

Taiga cleared her throat pointedly and gave Tatsuya a blank look. It caused her friend to sigh in defeat and, apparently, change the strategy; she patted Taiga’s cheek and shrugged lightly.

“Look, the way I see it, it’s a classic, pathetically cliché girl meets girl, so just ask for her number the next time you run into each other and see where it gets you. Sounds good, right? And pretty simple. You worry too much.”

She finished with a self-approving nod and grinned again. Taiga snorted, but said nothing;  _of course_  she worried. She was good at many things – cooking, eating, playing basketball, graduating high school without ever learning a thing – but interacting with people other than Tatsuya on a fully functional level was not one of those things. Even if Kuroko was actually flirting with her and they would meet again sometime soon, Taiga was going to screw it up spectacularly anyway. Still, Tatsuya’s presence was comforting enough for Taiga to finally fall asleep, at the very least.

She was still there when Taiga woke up; the red creases on her cheek, along with a bit of dried drool in the corner of her lips, warmed Taiga’s heart. Careful not to wake her friend, she slipped out of bed and (very rationally, considering it was the weekend) changed her yesterday’s clothes to pj’s. After no more than brushing her teeth, she put on a coat and went out to get them their traditional Sunday coffee and bagels. It was still early and her favorite café was practically empty, so there was no need to be particularly presentable – it was just grumpy Aomine preparing her order, after all.

She bickered with the barista who always, without fail, looked like he hated life and every living creature – especially customers like Taiga, who showed up before the end of his morning shift – and turned around to leave. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Kuroko, of all people, come in with a mumbled greeting. She yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily, which was absolutely the cutest thing that stole all strength from Taiga’s arms, and caused her to unceremoniously drop everything she was holding. The few people present gaped, and Taiga wanted to die on the spot.

“I am  _not_  cleaning this!” yelled Aomine, throwing his hands in the air. “I fucking quit! For real this time! Watch me go! Seriously! I don’t get paid enough for this shit!”

Taiga tuned him out, listening to her heart beating loudly as she stared incredulously at Kuroko. The girl blinked slowly for a moment before focusing her gaze back on Taiga, and soon her cheeks colored slightly as she dropped her eyes to the floor. It wasn’t long before she noticed the mess Taiga had made, and her lips predictably twisted into a small smile. Taiga flushed when Kuroko lifted her eyes again, remembering she was wearing her pajamas, and immediately dropped to her knees to start cleaning. Kuroko joined her in a second, catching her fingers in her small hands.

“You don’t have to clean this, Kagami-san.”

“Yes, she does!” shouted Aomine from the back. “I sure as hell won’t!”

Kuroko clicked her tongue at the barista and urged Taiga to get up. “Don’t mind him, Kagami-san. He’s all bark and no bite. Are you alright? You haven’t burned yourself, have you?”

Taiga shook her head dumbly. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

Kuroko smiled in relief and Taiga was slowly starting to panic. Was that the stage of Tatsuya’s brilliant plan where she asked for Kuroko’s number? Because it certainly was the part of Taiga’s own strategy where she ran away screaming and never left the house again for the rest of her natural life. She could hear Aomine complain as he mopped the floor, even over her the beat of her heart. She let Kuroko sit her at a table and silently cradle Taiga’s hands in hers, checking for injuries. Absently, Taiga noticed Kuroko hadn’t brought Nigou, and remembered there was someone waiting for her at home as well.

“Uh, I- I have to get another coffee,” she mumbled.

Kuroko smiled, patting Taiga’s hand. “Let me buy it for you. I… apologize if I am being presumptuous, but… I believe it is my fault that you are in need of another? Please, let me. Was it to-go? I trust Aomine-kun to remember your order.”

“She drinks it black, like her evil, littering soul!”

Kuroko clicked her tongue again, and Taiga hesitated. She didn’t know why, maybe it was something in Kuroko’s expression when she turned her eyes back to her, but she reconsidered her automatic answer. She wondered what Tatsuya would want her to do – go back home with their coffee and keep sulking, or ditch her in order to actually take her advice for once. Kuroko tilted her head slightly in silent question, and Taiga swallowed, nodding to herself, her face getting incredibly hot.

“Yeah, but… It’s still 30% off… if we stay in? Right?”

Kuroko simply looked at her for a moment, her face unreadable save for a light tinge of pink on her cheeks, and Taiga’s heartbeat was deafening in her ears. It was only seconds, really, but it felt like an eternity has passed before Kuroko finally nodded, her smile so wide and carefree Taiga could see her teeth.

“Yes, Kagami-san,” she said, and she looked happy.

Taiga was possibly happy too.


End file.
